Hawkin .54 cal.percussion muzzle loader.

fishkiller41

gat_er_done:
I read in the other thread you mentioned u had recently gotten into muzzle loaders.I also have a Hawken that my wife had,and gave to me(i sure do love her)SHe gave me her Ruger 10/22 as well[:D]
I have hunted with the Hawken in Indiana for 2, First week of Dec.,Muzzle loader seasone and love it.No scope Just adjustable iron sights.Since i usualy hunt the "bottoms" i usualy dont get more than 100-125 yd. shots.Don't think i'd try a shot much past there anyhow.At 125 yds. the drop on a 425Gr.bullet is about 9-10 in.but i killes 6 does in 3 days last year and all dropped like rocks when hit with that slug.I shot one strait-on in the center of her chest and she turned an almost complete back-flip,and hit the ground stone dead.(Wish i had that on film).
I soap mine up in the bathtub in as hot of water as i can stand to put my hands in.Then lean it up muzzle-down on a dry washrag for 10-15 min. and the heat in the steel dries it right out.A litle oily patch work ,and the bore's clean as a whistle(chrome-lined).Let me know what Tecnique you use for cleaning.
Jeff

surbat6

I clean my muzzleloaders using much the same technique. Near-boiling water poured down the barrel (vent or nipple plugged), let it set a bit to loosen fouling, dump out the water, refill the barrel, dump out water again, run a couple of patches to soak up excess moisture and the residual heat will dry the bore. Then a couple of patches with a bit of oil completes the bore cleaning. IMO, too many BP shooters use unnecessarily complicated cleaning methods.

muss

Fishkiller,

That is by far the best way to clean a black powder gun. I have done it that way for twety five or more years and never had a problem.

Just a NOTE: If you are going to clean your gun and then go shoot or hunting with it. Make certain that the barrel and nipple area are DRY before loading it.

Also, in the fall after the gun has sat in the safe all year, Be sure to run a few dry patches down it before loading for the first time. The oil drains down the barrel and collects in the nipple area, therefore, no fire can get through.

n/a

I've been useing a bore cleaner made for muzzle loaders. I forget the name of it but it is made by T/C. I havent done the bathtub methode yet I just have a hard time with putting my guns into a tub of water. But I do pull the nipples and use pipe cleaners on them and spend alot of time cleaning to make sure I get them as good as possible.
I am planning on useing my winchester muzzleloader for deer hunting. It has the scope on it and I hit very good at 200 yards with it with a 150 grain powder load (only about a 1.5 inch drop if that). My hawken seems to have about twice that at the same range.